Worming Up
Recycling
MALAYSIA
Web: wormingup.com/
Location: Kuching, Malaysia
Sector: Manufacture – Transformation, End of life (Food waste treatment)
Date of analysis: July 2019
An innovative waste management solution!
overview
It was during an exchange abroad that Jeff, the founder of Worming Up, made an interesting discovery: at the foot of the compost of his exchange university, a few larvae devour the food waste deposited there. Back in his country of origin, he launches Worming Up: this company proposes an innovative management of food waste, based on the properties of the black soldier fly. Today, he and his team collect 1.2 tons of waste per day, which is then treated in a 2ha workshop.
- 1 fly eats 7 times its weight
- 1.2 tonnes of waste collected per day
- 12 tons of compost produced per month
Recycling
project operation
This is called bioconversion: after collection, the waste is sorted in order to remove the non-organic fraction. The remaining fraction is then dehydrated. The result is then given to the larvae that will feed on it to become flies, while creating compost. Once dead, the flies are ground into powder to be used as a source of ammonium, notably for animal feed. The process is therefore completely natural and results in value-added products: compost, a source of protein and animal feed.
Diagram of Worming Up’s circular economy approach
Worming Up products sold on the market
sustainable approach
The method is totally non-polluting and has a very interesting yield: in fact, a larva digests seven times its weight in waste during its development. In addition, 1kg of eggs gives birth to 10 tons of larvae, each of which digests seven times its weight in waste during its development. In total, this eliminates about 40 tons of food waste in 10 days!
Worming Up makes it possible to recover food waste, which is therefore no longer a waste but the raw material for valuable products.
Worming Up complements existing waste management services and helps to relieve congestion in the system. Moreover, the company has now grown well and has about ten employees.
replicability
If you can collect black soldier larvae and food waste, the method is reproducible without problems. This idea is already being emulated in France and in the West. You can learn more about the possibility of breeding your own black soldier fly on the Low Tech Lab website.